THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE & OTHER TALESis available at amazon.com and other leading retailers!

Rossen Milanov conducts the Symphony in C, featuring Ann Crumb and Ukee
Washington as narrators in Blast Off!, Goldilocks and the Three
Bears, Billy and the Carnival, and Three Fun Fables (including
The Fox and the Crow, The Dog and his Reflection, and The
Tortoise and the Hare).

Dorff's narrated stories entertain adults as well as children and are
frequently performed at concerts around the world, while introducing young
listeners to the sounds of an orchestra. Perfect for holiday and birthday
gifts, music education classes, and plain old enjoyment!

A Treeful of Monkeys for Narrator with Clarinet, Horn, Violin, Percussion, and Piano (7')

Based on the African folk tale that inspired the familiar story "Caps For Sale."

- COMMISSIONED by the Philadelphia Orchestra for 4 performances on its Sound All Around series, May 2015.

Billy and the
Carnival: A Children's Guide to Musical Instruments
for Narrator
and Orchestra (14')

Narrated guide to instruments based on an original story - a boy goes to his
local park and is surprised to meet musicians coming to a concert there. As he
meets musicians they play their instruments, so demonstrations of each
instrument fit the story.

Goldilocks and the
Three Bearsfor Narrator with Mixed Octet
or Orchestra (8')

A
traditional telling that highlights small-medium-large contrasts, and
varying repetitions in the story; at the end Goldilocks apologizes for her
actions and cooks the bears' first-ever pancake breakfast.

1) OCTET VERSION: Flute, Clarinet, Bass Trombone, Harp, 1 Percussion, Violin, Cello, and Bass- COMMISSIONED and PREMIERED by the Minnesota Orchestra Volunteer
Association for Kinder Konzerts. 51 performances, 2000-2001 season; encored for 50 performances
in the 2006-07 season.
- OCTET PERFORMANCES also include Aspen Music Festival and Parlance
Chamber Concerts (members of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra).
- PUBLISHED on rental by Theodore Presser Company; score available for
sale.
-
TEACHING/CURRICULUM USE: Serves as a story-based way to introduce
variations on recurring patterns, and to show the correlation between
small-medium-large and high-medium-low sounds.
- RECORDED (octet version) by Symphony In C, conducted by Rossen Milanov, featuring
Ann Crumb as narrator, on Bridge Records 9229.
- AUDIO
EXCERPTS from the CD: 1)
"Once upon a time, there were three bears."
(bars 1-16)2) The
entrance of Goldilocks (bars 38-51)3)
The happy ending (bars 244-end)

Old
MacDonald Had an Orchestra
for Narrator with Oboe, Trombone,
Percussion, Cello, and Piano (6')

Old
MacDonald enjoyed those sounds on his farm so much that he got himself an
orchestra. Using the familiar song, young listeners learn what each
instrument sounds like and also hear variations on the song.

-
COMMISSIONED by the Philadelphia Orchestra for 4 performances on its Sound All Around series,
May 2013.

Take the Orchestra Out to
the Ballgame
for Narrator with Quintet or Orchestra (5')

Through
musical and mood variations on "Take Me Out to the Ballgame,"
the narrator tells a story of your local orchestra's baseball team playing
against the nearest professional team.

Through
musical and mood variations on "Mary Had a Little Lamb," the
narrator tells a story about Mary's little lamb, introducing the concept
of variations on a familiar theme to young listeners.

1) QUINTET
VERSION A: Contrabassoon, Horn, Violin, Viola, and Piano- COMMISSIONED by the Philadelphia Orchestra for 5
performances on its Sound All Around series, May 2002.2) QUINTET VERSION B: Bassoon,
Trombone, Violin, Percussion, and Piano- COMMISSIONED by the Philadelphia Orchestra for 5
performances on its Sound All Around series, April 2006. - PUBLISHED by Theodore Presser Company
(version A 111-40219, version B 111-40220)

The Bear
Went Under the Mountain
for Narrator
with Flute/Piccolo, Bass Trombone, Cello, Percussion, and Piano (5')

Through
musical and mood variations on "The Bear Went Over the Mountain," the
narrator tells a story with a twist on the familiar song, introducing the concept
of variations on a familiar theme to young listeners.

-
COMMISSIONED by the Philadelphia Orchestra for 5
performances on its Sound All Around series, April 2004.
- PERFORMANCES include Aspen Music Festival.
- PUBLISHED by Theodore Presser Company (111-40196).

2010 performance at Aspen Music Festival
all-Dorff children's concert

The
Three Little Pigs
for Narrator, Violin, and Cello (10½')

The
familiar story is told with lots of special effects, and with leitmotives
identifying each of the pigs and the wolf, to illustrate variations on
recurring patterns. A perfect story for illustrating variations on a
theme.
- COMMISSIONED in 2004 by the
American Composers Forum community partnerships for the Auricolae ensemble
and Strings in the Schools.
- OTHER PERFORMANCES include Aspen Music Festival, Society for New
Music, and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
- PUBLISHED by Theodore Presser Company (111-40216).
- RECORDED on New
Focus Recordings, FCR108.-PROGRAM NOTES and TEACHING/CURRICULUM USE

The Tortoise and the
Hare for Narrator
with Octet or Orchestra (5½')

A comical telling of the Aesop fable, featuring
Contrabassoon and Clarinet as the Tortoise and the Hare. Themes are
exaggeratedly low/slow and high/fast to illustrate contrasts in music. This is a
stand-alone movement taken from Three Fun Fables (see below).

1) OCTET VERSION:
Clarinet, Contrabassoon, Trumpet, Trombone, Violin, Bass, Percussion, Harp- COMMISSIONED and PREMIERED by the Minnesota Orchestra Volunteer
Association for Kinder Konzerts. 52 performances, 1996-97 season; encored for 50 performances
in the 2003-04 season, and another 48 in the 2010-11 season.
- OCTET PERFORMANCES also include Chicago Pro Musica, Aspen Music
Festival, and Parlance
Chamber Concerts (members of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra).
- PUBLISHED on rental from Lauren Keiser Music; score available for
sale.
-
TEACHING/CURRICULUM USE: A very clear illustration of
"opposites" in music, making clear contrasts between the low and
slow tortoise (contrabassoon) and high, fast hare (clarinet). Frequently
used for this purpose in educational concerts.
- RECORDED by Symphony In C, conducted by Rossen Milanov, featuring Ann
Crumb as narrator, on Bridge Records 9229.
- Instrumentation makes this a perfect companion for L'Histoire du
Soldat performances.
- AUDIO
EXCERPTS provided below under Three
Fun Fables. -PROGRAM NOTES

Daniel Dorff shaking hands
with Olympic
track star Carl Lewis, narrator for the
world premiere of The Tortoise and the Hare

Three Fun Fablesfor Narrator and Octet or Orchestra
(11')

1. The Fox and the Crow
(features Trumpet and
Bass)
2. The Dog and His Reflection (features Trombone and Violin/Harp/Percussion)
3. The Tortoise and the Hare (features Contrabassoon and Clarinet)
Each character is portrayed by an instrument, allowing for pre-concert
illustrations to help instrument recognition, musical contrasts, and familiarity
with the story and music.

1) OCTET VERSION: Clarinet,
Contrabassoon, Trumpet, Trombone, Violin, Bass, Percussion, Harp- COMMISSIONED and PREMIERED by the Minnesota Orchestra Volunteer
Association for Kinder Konzerts. 52 performances, 1996-97 season; encored for 50 performances
in the 2003-04 season, and another 48 in the 2010-11 season.
- OCTET PERFORMANCES also include Chicago Pro Musica, Aspen Music
Festival, and Parlance
Chamber Concerts (members of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra).
- PUBLISHED on rental from Lauren Keiser Music; score available for
sale.
-
TEACHING/CURRICULUM USE: Three familiar stories use humor, irony, and
contrast, to illustrate "opposites" in music, and introduce
characteristic sounds and moods of the instruments.
- RECORDED by Symphony In C, conducted by Rossen Milanov, featuring Ann
Crumb as narrator, on Bridge Records 9229.
- Instrumentation makes this a perfect companion for L'Histoire du
Soldat performances.
-
REVIEWS: "I
was very pleased to have the opportunity to conduct this work in a
Philadelphia Orchestra Family Concert in April of 2000.Mr. Dorff's work is exciting, engaging, and funny for the
children, as well as containing some very good learning experiences from
the wonderful Aesop's fables.It
is very skillfully written for the orchestra, and uses the instruments in
a most effective way.I can
recommend this work with great enthusiasm for a Family or Children's
Concert."
- Wolfgang Sawallisch, Music Director, Philadelphia Orchestra

"delightful"

-
Ted Shen, Chicago Sun-Times, 4/12/01"the hit of the show. more fun for adults than
children"

Homage to The Sound of Philadelphia (Philly International Records' rhythm &
blues style) and "The Philadelphia Sound" of the Philadelphia
Orchestra, as a hybrid of these two traditions.
- COMMISSIONED by Network
for New Music for Philadelphia's Creative and Performing
Arts H.S.
- PUBLISHED on rental by Theodore Presser Company
- INSTRUMENTATION: 3(Picc)23(Bcl)2 4331 Pno Hp DrumSet
3Perc (no Timp) Strings
[Ob2, Bn2, Hn3&4 may be omitted].

A dazzling showpiece in the style of a Russian galop, with
jazzy American harmonies; Movement 3 from Concerto for Solo Percussion and
Orchestra.- PREMIERE: Alan Gilbert conducting the
Haddonfield Symphony; Dean Witten solo xylophone.
- PUBLISHED on rental by Theodore Presser Company; score available for
sale.
- INSTRUMENTATION: 2(Picc)222-4331 Timp 3Perc Hp Strings
- ALSO AVAILABLE for Xylophone with Piano or with Band.-AUDIO
EXCERPT from
premiere-PROGRAM
NOTES

Concerto for
Contrabassoon with Clarinet, Horn, and String
Orchestra (12')

-
PERFORMANCES at youth concerts include Louisville Orchestra and Charlotte Symphony,
to demonstrate contrabassoon, in a style attractive to teen audiences.
- PUBLISHED by Lauren Keiser Music; score available for sale.
- Complete information detail on Contrabassoon page of this website.
- AUDIO EXCERPTS from Roger Soren's performance with Haddonfield
Symphony conducted by Daniel Hege.
from Mvt. 1 from Mvt. 2 from Mvt. 3-PROGRAM NOTES

This final movement stands on its own as a jazz waltz,
ideal for teen and youth concerts.
- PREMIERE: James Freeman conducting Orchestra 2001, Arne Running
soloist.
- PERFORMANCES have also includedChicago Symphony's John
Yeh and Colorado
Symphony's Bil Jackson. Jazz great Eddie Daniels is also available.
- PUBLISHED by Lauren Keiser Music; clarinet/piano version also
available.
- AUDIO EXCERPT:
John Yeh with the Haddonfield Symphony, conducted by Alan Gilbert-PROGRAM NOTES

John Yeh and Alan Gilbert applauding the composer
after their performance.

Sunburst
for Solo Violin with
String Orchestra (3')

- COMMISSIONED and PREMIERED by the Colorado Symphony's Up Close and
Musical series for 20-30 performances (1998-2000 seasons), to demonstrate sounds
and colors of the violin.
- PERFORMANCES at youth concerts include Nashville Symphony
- PUBLISHED on rental from Theodore Presser Company.

OPERA
FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES

Stone Soup: An
Operatic Fable in One Act
for SATB Soloists,
optional Chorus, with Piano or Chamber Orch. (c.35')

A light-hearted comical
interpretation of the fable, in which a Solider (T.) is hungry and lost, but
with the help of children and Mayor (A.), he convinces the Vegetable Lady (S.)
and Butcher (B.) to contribute food to his soup. The musical refrain "It Takes
All Kinds of People to Make Up a Happy Town" is echoed by the story's use of all kinds of food to make
the most delicious Stone Soup, and to celebrate community and diversity.